One of the simplest methods of recording and communicating information is the traditional method of writing the information down on a piece of paper with a writing instrument such as a pen. Writing information by hand on a piece of paper is inexpensive and can be done quickly and easily with little preparation. The traditional method is also flexible in that a writer can generally write in any format anywhere on the page. One of the limitations with handwritten work is that it is not easily manipulated or transferred to other contexts. In other words, changing or transferring a piece of handwritten text typically requires rewriting the text on another medium.
Handwritten notes are often rewritten with personal computers. Specifically, with the widespread use of personal computers, textual information often is recorded using word processing software running on a personal computer. The advantage of such electronic methods for recording information is that the information can be easily stored and transferred to other remote computing devices and electronic media. Such electronically recorded text can also be easily corrected, modified, and manipulated in a variety of different ways.
Typical computer systems, especially computer systems using graphical user interface (GUI) systems such as Microsoft WINDOWS, are optimized for accepting user input from one or more discrete input devices. Common input devices include a keyboard for entering text and a pointing device, such as a mouse with one or more buttons, for controlling the user interface. The keyboard and mouse interface facilitates creation and modification of electronic documents including text, spreadsheets, database fields, drawings, and photos.
One of the limitations with conventional GUI systems of computers is that a user must generally type the text they are entering into the personal computer using the keyboard. Entering text using a keyboard is generally slower and more cumbersome than handwriting. Although recent advances have been made in reducing the size of personal computers, they are still not as portable and easily accessible as traditional paper and pen. Furthermore, traditional pen and paper provide the user with considerable flexibility for editing a document, recording notes in the margin, and drawing figures and shapes. In some instances, a user may prefer to use a pen to mark-up a document rather than review the document on-screen because of the ability to freely make notes outside of the confines of the keyboard and mouse interface.
To address the shortcomings of traditional keyboard and mouse interfaces, there have been various attempts to create an electronic tablet that can record handwriting. Such electronic tablets typically comprise a screen and a handheld device that is similar to a pen (also referred to as a stylus). A user can manipulate the pen to write on the electronic tablet in a manner similar to the use of traditional pen and paper. The electronic tablet can “read” the strokes of the user's handwriting with the handheld device and render the handwriting in electronic form on the tablet's screen and/or the computer's display as “electronic ink”. This electronic tablet approach can be employed in a variety of ways including, on a personal computer and on a handheld computing device.
While the electronic tablet approach has overcome many of the shortcomings of traditional keyboard and mouse interfaces, the electronic tablet approach has not overcome some of the problems often associated with conventional handwritten techniques that employ pen and paper. For example, when notes are taken during a meeting by a user, the information contained in the notes may not be organized in a manner desired by the user. And the user may not have time during the meeting and during presentation of information to move or position notes being taken according to a user's desired organization. Further, an electronic tablet approach as well as traditional keyboard and mouse approaches also suffer from the problem of being able to visually distinguishing a first set of notes from a second set of notes that may be presented on a display device.
Specifically, while information is being recorded in the notes by a user, some notes of a set of notes may have various degrees of importance. Further, some notes of a set may require follow up actions by the user while the remaining notes are only taken to preserve information that is presented to a user.
With conventional pen and paper approaches, a user will typically develop his or her own personalized system for distinguishing certain types of notes from other types of notes. For example, a user may flag a note that requires further action of the user after the act of taking the note with a special character or symbol or graphical technique in order to make certain that a particular note “stands out” from other notes on a page of notes. Conventional electronic ink tablets and conventional keyboard and mouse approaches do not have a way to visually distinguish a first set of notes from a second set of notes presented on a display device.
The closest conventional technology for visually distinguishing data from other data may include tasks that are part of conventional appointments/task/e-mail management software such as the product Microsoft Outlook (the assignee of the present application). Tasks as well as e-mails in the Microsoft Outlook product can include flags that comprise icons in order to visually separate tasks from other tasks or e-mails from other e-mails. Specifically, for tasks, a check box icon can be marked with an “X” to designate that the task is complete. Alternatively, the check box icon can remain empty to indicate that the task associated with this check box icon is incomplete.
Similarly, e-mails can be associated with one or more predetermined and fixed icons that designate a particular status. For example, an e-mail may be associated with a “flag” icon to indicate to a user that follow up action is required for a particular e-mail. Also, an e-mail may be associated with an exclamation point character to indicate that a particular e-mail has a higher importance relative to other e-mails which may not have an exclamation point.
While tasks and e-mails of the Microsoft Outlook product may include these predetermined and fixed flags to visually distinguish a first set of data from another set of data, e-mails and tasks are usually presented in user interfaces that are separate from one another. That is, if a user is creating a task, then only task data can be displayed to the user. Similarly, if an e-mail is being created, only e-mails can be presented to the user. The conventional technology does not provide a way to present tasks and e-mails on the same page. Also, the conventional technology does not provide a way visually distinguish a first set of notes comprising various different categories of items from a second set of notes that may comprise various different sets of items.
Further, the conventional technology does not permit a user to customize or change the look or “feel” of flags that may be associated with a particular task or an e-mail. With the conventional technology, a user is forced to conform his or her notes to the predefined format of the flags such as the “flags” for following up e-mails and check boxes for task items.
In addition to the lack of customization for flags associated with notes, conventional technology does not link notes taken by a user with corresponding application program that may be needed to perform one or more notes taken by the user. For example, a user may create a note that reminds him or her to e-mail another person as a result of a meeting. After creating such a note, a user later opens up an e-mail application program in order to prepare the e-mail for the person identified in the note. If the user records several notes that pertain to different applications, then the user will need to open up as many corresponding separate application programs relative to the note recording application program.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and system for customizing note flags such that a user can customize the look or “feel” of a note flag. There is also a need in the art for a method and system that allows customization of note flags by providing a user with several options in order to create note flags that are visually distinguishable from one another. A further need exists in the art for a method and system that can link a note flag with a particular action of another application program. In other words, there is a need in the art for a note flag that can initiate an operation in another application program when the particular note flag is selected by a user.